Years and years ago I stayed in youth hostels and I'm sure things have changed. I saw something on TV recently about hostels that accomodate singles or families. They seemed nice though they are simple. I wish I could remember what the show was.....They showed families eating at the hostel, too. Frugal dinners, but good! What you will find is many people staying in one room. They showed sets of bunkbeds which is what I remember from college days. No privacy or very little. Bathrooms are shared as well. If those things don't bother you then I think it would be a great experience! It would definitely be a lot cheaper than hotels which can be dumps, too. If you look at it as a place to sleep between sightseeing ventures I think you will be ok with it.
As with anything, I think you will find nice ones and not so nice ones. I found that generally speaking the Northern European countries had better accomodations than the southern countries like Spain and Portugal.
If you haven't already, look here.
http://www.syha.org.uk
Sorry I don't have any current experiences. I sure would be interested in hearing about your trip when you get back!
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